In 1997, journalist Ted Conover decided to step into the shoes of a correctional officer. His job was to keep order, and to keep himself together both mentally and physically, over his one year placement. He begins his journey by enrolling in the seven-week training program at the Albany Training Academy. It wasn't what he expected it to be, as it was much like a military boot camp. Conover realizes that him and fellow trainees endure what the inmates do every day, such as, exposure to tear gas. After completing the training camp, Conover and other graduates are assigned to Sing Sing prison. Sing Sing is known to be the worst prison in the state of New York, according to the correctional officers. While Conover is doing his placement, the prison was home to 1813 prisoners in maximum security, and 556 in medium. More than 1700 of the inmates were convicted …show more content…
His first day in the prison, he refers to being a lion tamer, before ever seeing a lion. When he reaches his assigned floor with a regular officer, he realizes the chaos within Sing Sing. Inmates overtake the officer asking to make phone calls or to honor their special requests. After a few hours within the madness, Conover wonders if he'll make it to the end of his shift. Newjack officers are granted very little respect in Sing Sing. The learning process is quick for Conover. His four week training process was horrifying. Officer Smith ends up being a person that Conover begins to look up to. Smith is calm, yet firm and he doesn't treat the inmates as if they are animals. He believes that him and Smith are related in the sense that they treat inmates like real humans. They treat them this way because the inmates will do whatever it takes to beat the system, and to demoralize the officers. However, he refuses to resort to immediate violence as many officers do. He makes sure to always take the best path, doing justice, at a humane